Gedo community flee to Ethiopia due to extreme drought in fertile land; 80 a day

[Farm]

What happened to that so called lush land?

Crop failures, livestock die-offs, and Al-Shabab extortion demands are driving thousands of farmers and pastoralists to abandon their lands and seek refuge

When the next major drought hit in 2016/17, she found she could not even sell her surviving animals as there was no longer demand for them.

Then this year, as the rains failed once again, she had no option but to sell up the little piece of land that remained to her, and flee across the border to Ethiopia.

“There was nothing we could do to survive,” the 38-year-old said as she tended to the youngest of her nine children, a toddler crying for milk. “I left because of my children.”

With already poor security and now a worsening drought, more than 5,000 Somalis have sought refuge in Ethiopia so far this year – about four times the total number that crossed the border in search of safety in 2018.

“The river is dry and there is no rain ... Al-Shabab force us to produce what we did not have.”

More families are expected to flee to southern Ethiopia in coming months, as the Horn of Africa country faces its worst harvest since the 2011 famine.

The fragile situation is being aggravated still further by militant group Al-Shabab, which determines what crops farmers can grow and levies “taxes” – extortion payments — on already struggling rural communities.

“There was a time when we would cultivate the farms. The river would rise, and it would flow and we survived,” said Shalle Hassan Abdirahman, who arrived at UNHCR’s Dollo Ado reception centre in eastern Ethiopia after a three-day journey from Somalia’s Lower Juba region.

“We planted maize, tomatoes, sesame and other things along the river. Now, the river is dry and there is no rain. What is worse is that Al-Shabab force us to produce what we did not have,” he added.

The 53-year-old farmer said he used to grow and sell tobacco until Al-Shabab banned it. Despite the loss to his income, he said he faced constant harassment from the group to pay a “tax” of US$1,500 — a sum that he could ill afford.

He is not alone. Several Somali families in Dollo Ado said communities must either pay Al-Shabab or hand over their children for military training. Like many newly arrived refugees, Barwako voiced fears that her sons would be forcibly recruited by Al-Shabab if they stayed in Somalia much longer.

“My children are growing and are also at risk of being taken away as fighters. That’s why I came here so they can go to school so their future can be better,” she said.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is increasingly concerned about the risk of climate-related displacement of people, either within their own countries or across borders.

The Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly in December 2018, directly addresses this growing concern. It recognizes that ‘climate, environmental degradation and natural disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.’

“We are receiving reports from new arrivals about cattle loss, scarcity of water.”

Muhammad Harfoush, Protection Officer at UNHCR’s Melkadida sub-office, said insecurity and worsening drought were clearly driving the spike in new arrivals to Ethiopia: “Security remains their strongest concern in Somalia but also, the drought is affecting everybody.

“We are receiving reports from new arrivals about cattle loss, scarcity of water, inability to move around to look for water. Life is becoming very challenging.”

The Dollo Ado reception centre lies just three kilometres from the border with Somalia. With the increased arrivals, sometimes as high as 80 people per day, there is not enough space to accommodate everyone. Families like Shalle’s are camped out on beds that have been pushed against the outer walls of the centre while they await registration and relocation to one of Melkadida’s five refugee camps.

Other families like Barwako’s are being housed temporarily in the grounds of a school run by one of UNHCR’s partners, World Vision, in Bur Amino.

The shortage of available shelters is a major challenge for UNHCR, which plans to provide more shelters to accommodate the growing number of refugees arriving from Somalia.

Despite the overcrowding in the Dollo Ado reception centre, Shalle has found some solace since reaching Ethiopia.

“I have been sleeping well since I arrived,” he said.

The UN will host the 2019 Climate Action Summitin New York on 23 September to address the challenge of a changing climate. UNHCR is joining the appeal, calling for urgent international action to prevent and mitigate climate-induced displacement.

https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/...unds-security-woes-somalis-flee-ethiopia.html

 

[FBIsomalia]

No government and this is the result. Why they fight us if they didnt govern their lands?

PL can talk to international community for any issue occur on our lands.

 

[Farm]

No government and this is the result. Why they fight us if they didnt govern their lands?

PL can talk to international community for any issue occur on our lands.

It’s sad I hope one day they can get a government that will help them.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

 

[Marsin]

Why didnt they say FARMAAJO II GEEYAAAAAA

 

[Shaolin23]

Using the suffering of drought stricken Muslims to score cheap political fkd points the end is surely near fear Allah folks

 

[Arma]

Using the suffering of drought stricken Muslims to score cheap political fkd points the end is surely near fear Allah folks

F*ck off, ya c*nt. Dont start crying now, when you say similar sh*t.

 

[Shaolin23]

F*ck off, ya c*nt. Dont start crying now, when you say similar sh*t.

I always retaliate against your people's wickedness and hypocrisy never ever have I made a topic targeting innocent people there's a limit to my fkd banter

 

[Farm]

Using the suffering of drought stricken Muslims to score cheap political fkd points the end is surely near fear Allah folks

Keep that same energy for your clansmen.

 

[Shaolin23]

Keep that same energy for your clansmen.

Honestly what did you hope to accomplish with this thread do you think people on Sspot actually get pissed off or triggered by this kind of stuff deaf dumb and blind diaspora kids don't give a shit about back home maybe a fob from that region would get triggered

 

[Farm]

Honestly what did you hope to accomplish with this thread do you think people on Sspot actually get pissed off or triggered by this kind of stuff deaf dumb and blind diaspora kids don't give a shit about back home maybe a fob from that region would get triggered

I posted news like I typically do regardless of region. It isn’t meant to trigger anyone but rather enlighten people about the plight of the citizens in Gedo who’s rightful aid money is being misused by the FGS.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

do you think people on Sspot actually get pissed off or triggered by this kind of stuff deaf dumb and blind diaspora kids don't give a shit about back home maybe a fob from that region would get triggered

 

[Louis Vuitton Don]

May Allah help the women and children and give them sabr.

We Somalis as a whole need to fix up fast. Doesn’t make sense when we have a trillions of dollars of natural resources on our land and we’re dying from preventable situations.

 

[Shaolin23]

I posted news like I typically do regardless of region. It isn’t meant to trigger anyone but rather enlighten people about the plight of the citizens in Gedo who’s rightful aid money is being misused by the FGS.

"What happened to the lush green Gedo?" Does FGS control rains you meant to trigger sxb fix up

 

[Farm]

"What happened to the lush green Gedo?" Does FGS control rains you meant to trigger sxb fix up

I always see some specific people bragging about the lush and green environment so I was curious why this was happening. It’s a legitimate question.

 

[Shaolin23]

I always see some specific people bragging about the lush and green environment so I was curious why this was happening. It’s a legitimate question.

Drought affects everywhere in Somalia even the greener lower Jubba floods and lack of rain will make the crops fail you need to read more dude

 

[nine]

Drought affects everywhere in Somalia even the greener lower Jubba floods and lack of rain will make the crops fail you need to read more dude

There is obsession with us now. When we were making threads they calmed down now we're less active they brought qooq smh.

 

[World]

Gedo is 100000 times more lush and fertile than the barren desert known as puntland

 

[Farm]

Gedo is 100000 times more lush and fertile than the barren desert known as puntland

You aren’t exactly helping their case....

Aren’t you from the second or first worst region in Somalia aka Kashmir?

 

[Louis Vuitton Don]

Gedo is 100000 times more lush and fertile than the barren desert known as puntland

My dhulo harti relative. Why are you starting shit when Jeegans pay for your loyalty? Of all the people in the world. Jeegans smh
Do you not know northern Somalia is going through climate change and people of buhodle are facing a crisis.